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233 jobs lost at Aylesford Newsprint as digital media continues to dominate

Administrators KPMG have confirmed 233 redundancies at Aylesford Newsprint with immediate effect.

The production facility has now closed and administrators will retain 65 staff to assist administrators KPMG with the sale of assets and the decommissioning of the plant.

Allan Graham from KPMG, said: “Significant overcapacity in the newsprint market, coupled with rise of digital media, has created challenging operating conditions for Aylesford Newsprint.

“The business has been loss-making for a number of years and was unable to be maintained as a going concern.

“We are on site and will be working closely with the Redundancy Payments Office to support the staff impacted by the administration.”

According to Kent Online, Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, has arranged for Maidstone Job Centre to be on site from 2pm on Thursday afternoon to help and support those affected by the announcement.

Unite, the country’s largest union which has 150 members at the firm, is currently seeking legal advice.

Unite regional officer Tim Elliott said: “I am absolutely disgusted by the brutal and heartless actions of the administrators who have apparently made no effort at all to explore options to keep this company going in some form.

“Unite won’t roll over when it comes to defending its members and we will be seeking legal advice following this harsh action delivered in honeyed words by the administrators.

“We want a proper consultation period involving serious negotiations to save as many jobs as possible. The closure of this plant will be a massive blow to the Kentish economy as it is one of the biggest employers in the area.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .